Canada Revenue Agency Goes After Ebay Powersellers

In a recent news story, “Taxman goes browsing on Ebay“, the Globe and Mail reports that, “The Canada Revenue Agency has won a Federal Court order requiring eBay Canada Ltd. to turn over the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all high-volume sellers on the popular website. The CRA wants to find out whether those individuals or companies are reporting the income they made from online sales in 2004 and 2005.”

It was only a matter of time until the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) figured this one out (recall the physician’s adage,”When you hear hoofbeats in Texas, think horses, not zebras.”), an Ebay seller ticked off someone from CRA or CRA received a message on its tip line about someone living the high life based on an Ebay income, take your pick.

Ebay tried the classic argument about the books and records being outside Canada but that never works unless they are in a tax haven. The story also reports that, “The company also argued that the CRA had not shown enough evidence to prove that it “was conducting a genuine and serious inquiry.” In other words, Ebay alleged the other classic argument – CRA was merely on a “fishing expedition”. The judge of the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that Ebay was obliged to turn over the information, however, he reserved his decision on the “fishing expedition” question. I will be surprised if that argument is ultimately successful. Further, if Ebay does lose this argument, it will be curious to see if Ebay appeals the decision. While I can’t imagine it is the best public relations to be seen as protecting potential tax cheats, the sellers are responsible for their profits.

It is not unusual for CRA to go to third parties when they believe there is some underreporting of income, especially among a “class” of taxpayers. Because of a perceived high amount of non-compliance by contractors in the construction industry, CRA completed a similar investigation a number of years ago which resulted in new reporting requirements (basically tax slips) for payments to contractors.

The Income Tax Act gives CRA broad powers to inspect (without a warrant) not only a taxpayer’s records but also those of any other person who may have information that should be in the taxpayer’s records or relates to any amount owing by the taxpayer under the Act. If you ever have insomnia, take a look at Section 233.1 of the Income Tax Act. You will either go right to sleep or be scared out of your wits and have nightmares (if you are able to fall asleep).

So, if you are an Ebay powerseller and you have not reported your income, be prepared. While it is likely too late to make a voluntary disclosure, it still might be worth a try.

Filed under: CRA, Ebay, powersellers

Canada Revenue Agency Goes After Ebay Powersellers

In a recent news story, “Taxman goes browsing on Ebay“, the Globe and Mail reports that, “The Canada Revenue Agency has won a Federal Court order requiring eBay Canada Ltd. to turn over the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all high-volume sellers on the popular website. The CRA wants to find out whether those individuals or companies are reporting the income they made from online sales in 2004 and 2005.”

It was only a matter of time until the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) figured this one out (recall the physician’s adage,”When you hear hoofbeats in Texas, think horses, not zebras.”), an Ebay seller ticked off someone from CRA or CRA received a message on its tip line about someone living the high life based on an Ebay income, take your pick.

Ebay tried the classic argument about the books and records being outside Canada but that never works unless they are in a tax haven. The story also reports that, “The company also argued that the CRA had not shown enough evidence to prove that it “was conducting a genuine and serious inquiry.” In other words, Ebay alleged the other classic argument – CRA was merely on a “fishing expedition”. The judge of the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that Ebay was obliged to turn over the information, however, he reserved his decision on the “fishing expedition” question. I will be surprised if that argument is ultimately successful. Further, if Ebay does lose this argument, it will be curious to see if Ebay appeals the decision. While I can’t imagine it is the best public relations to be seen as protecting potential tax cheats, the sellers are responsible for their profits.

It is not unusual for CRA to go to third parties when they believe there is some underreporting of income, especially among a “class” of taxpayers. Because of a perceived high amount of non-compliance by contractors in the construction industry, CRA completed a similar investigation a number of years ago which resulted in new reporting requirements (basically tax slips) for payments to contractors.

The Income Tax Act gives CRA broad powers to inspect (without a warrant) not only a taxpayer’s records but also those of any other person who may have information that should be in the taxpayer’s records or relates to any amount owing by the taxpayer under the Act. If you ever have insomnia, take a look at Section 233.1 of the Income Tax Act. You will either go right to sleep or be scared out of your wits and have nightmares (if you are able to fall asleep).

So, if you are an Ebay powerseller and you have not reported your income, be prepared. While it is likely too late to make a voluntary disclosure, it still might be worth a try.

Filed under: CRA, Ebay, powersellers

The Journey from a Modern User to Vintage Collector (Part Two)

So my fountain pen club friends, and one Mr. DR in particular, is trying to convert me from a modern user to a vintage collector. My appetite has been whetted – the journey has begun with my first vintage purchase of significance. I spotted this Waterman 92 in an unbelievable “snakeskin” pattern on Ebay. Neither of DR nor I had seen anything like it before and couldn’t find in any of our books.

The most information that I could find about it was on the Fountain Pen Network from Dr. David Isaacson (http://www.vacumania.com/) – “a non-USA pattern with no catelog (sic) known to me” as well as the fact that he owns a smaller 92-V set. While not particularly descriptive, the information is helpful in that it confirms the uniqueness of the pen. BTW, he also mentioned that if I was interested in selling it to drop him a note :~). I think I will be holding onto it for now – at least until it is resacced and I write with it (or put it on my desk and admire it for awhile). I may even get a nibmeister like John Mottishaw (http://www.nibs.com/) or Richard Binder (http://www.richardspens.com/) to replace/retip the nib so it produces a wider line.

Enough already, here are the pictures (I didn’t take them, they are from the Ebayer (http://myworld.ebay.ca/beansantiques) that I bought it from). Trust me, the pen is real and its spectacular!

The nib just needed a bit of a soak to get rid of that ink you can see in the picture. The lever was “stuck” – no surprise that the sac was dried up.

Filed under: Ebay, john mottishaw, richard binder, snakeskin, vacumania, vintage, waterman 92

The Journey from a Modern User to Vintage Collector (Part One)

Since I became involved in using (collecting? accumulating?) fountain pens, the pens have all been modern. Perhaps a remake here or there, like a Parker 51 Special Edition, but modern in terms of age, materials and style. Why – I think the simple answer is access and knowledge with a definite sense of fear.

The ability to lay my hands on an actual fountain pen in a store of any kind here in London was difficult before but now is virtually impossible with the unfortunate closing of the Peel Pen Shop. So, my access was restricted to the various shops in downtown Toronto when I travelled there on business. Otherwise, I had to “trust” pictures and discussion boards before ordering new pens over the Internet or buying on Ebay.

I also wanted something that I could trust to write with few problems and moderns pretty much fit the bill.

In the vintage world, knowledge (and it would appear manual dexterity) is power. The more I learn about vintage pens, the more I appreciate them. Nonetheless, I am still deathly afraid of my lack of manual dexterity – I nothing but thumbs when it comes to minor repair work around the home (my mom used to call me Jack Tripper – remember the klutz on the old TV show “Three’s Company”), what chance do I have trying to repair a small, old pen that could easily break, even in the hands of a professional. God, I can hear my father laughing in heaven every time I pick up a hammer or screwdriver! Well, like most problems, there is the obvious solution (to almost anything): money – to buy vintage in mint or near mint condition (assuming you know what that means and can tell the difference – is the cap or clip or any other part of the pen exactly correct??). The other is to join a pen club and find some other knowledgeable vintage collectors who are willing to help you. To be continued.

Filed under: Ebay, fountain pen, modern, vintage

The Journey from a Modern User to Vintage Collector (Part Two)

So my fountain pen club friends, and one Mr. DR in particular, is trying to convert me from a modern user to a vintage collector. My appetite has been whetted – the journey has begun with my first vintage purchase of significance. I spotted this Waterman 92 in an unbelievable “snakeskin” pattern on Ebay. Neither of DR nor I had seen anything like it before and couldn’t find in any of our books.

The most information that I could find about it was on the Fountain Pen Network from Dr. David Isaacson (http://www.vacumania.com/) – “a non-USA pattern with no catelog (sic) known to me” as well as the fact that he owns a smaller 92-V set. While not particularly descriptive, the information is helpful in that it confirms the uniqueness of the pen. BTW, he also mentioned that if I was interested in selling it to drop him a note :~). I think I will be holding onto it for now – at least until it is resacced and I write with it (or put it on my desk and admire it for awhile). I may even get a nibmeister like John Mottishaw (http://www.nibs.com/) or Richard Binder (http://www.richardspens.com/) to replace/retip the nib so it produces a wider line.

Enough already, here are the pictures (I didn’t take them, they are from the Ebayer (http://myworld.ebay.ca/beansantiques) that I bought it from). Trust me, the pen is real and its spectacular!

The nib just needed a bit of a soak to get rid of that ink you can see in the picture. The lever was “stuck” – no surprise that the sac was dried up.

Filed under: Ebay, john mottishaw, richard binder, snakeskin, vacumania, vintage, waterman 92

The Journey from a Modern User to Vintage Collector (Part One)

Since I became involved in using (collecting? accumulating?) fountain pens, the pens have all been modern. Perhaps a remake here or there, like a Parker 51 Special Edition, but modern in terms of age, materials and style. Why – I think the simple answer is access and knowledge with a definite sense of fear.

The ability to lay my hands on an actual fountain pen in a store of any kind here in London was difficult before but now is virtually impossible with the unfortunate closing of the Peel Pen Shop. So, my access was restricted to the various shops in downtown Toronto when I travelled there on business. Otherwise, I had to “trust” pictures and discussion boards before ordering new pens over the Internet or buying on Ebay.

I also wanted something that I could trust to write with few problems and moderns pretty much fit the bill.

In the vintage world, knowledge (and it would appear manual dexterity) is power. The more I learn about vintage pens, the more I appreciate them. Nonetheless, I am still deathly afraid of my lack of manual dexterity – I nothing but thumbs when it comes to minor repair work around the home (my mom used to call me Jack Tripper – remember the klutz on the old TV show “Three’s Company”), what chance do I have trying to repair a small, old pen that could easily break, even in the hands of a professional. God, I can hear my father laughing in heaven every time I pick up a hammer or screwdriver! Well, like most problems, there is the obvious solution (to almost anything): money – to buy vintage in mint or near mint condition (assuming you know what that means and can tell the difference – is the cap or clip or any other part of the pen exactly correct??). The other is to join a pen club and find some other knowledgeable vintage collectors who are willing to help you. To be continued.

Filed under: Ebay, fountain pen, modern, vintage